HOUSTON — The Texas Southern Tigers men’s basketball team gifted Johnny Jones his 400th win as a head coach with a 93-78 victory at home in front of over 6,900 spectators who witnessed a splendid moment in a great career.
“I’ve been very blessed, extremely fortunate, to be in great programs,” Johnny Jones reflected on his career. “I’ve been around a lot of really good basketball players. I’ve had great staffs. We’re very fortunate to be in the business for the time to get 400 wins. You know, it certainly means a lot.”
During Saturday’s season finale, TSU (14-15,12-6 SWAC) gained bragging rights over Prairie View A&M (10-21,5-13 SWAC), winning 93-78. Johnny Jones’ Tigers enter the 2024 SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament as the No. 3 seed to face the No. 6 seed Jackson State Tigers at 2:00 PM CT on March 14.
nMarch 9, 2024; Texas Southern University Head Men's Basketball Coach Johnny Jones reflects on his career after recording his 400th victory as a head coach. Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends
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JOHNNY JONES THE MASTER DURING TOURNAMENT TIME
In the previous three seasons, Johnny Jones and his staff have developed SWAC tournament championship teams to gain berths into the NCAA Tournament.
“We know what we’re capable of doing. We know the guys that we have on this team. We do have a few season guys. We know that we have. We lost four starters from last year’s team, but we’ve got some guys eager to play. We’ve gone through our regular conference schedule, and we know that if we go in and play the right way and things are clicking, some great things can happen for us. And that’s got to be our focus going into the tournament,” Jones told HBCU Legends.
THE CHALLENGE FOR JONES AND TSU
The road will be challenging. Texas Southern must first conquer Jackson State (6th), before taking on the winner between Alcorn State (2nd) and Alabama A&M (7th) in their conference tournament bracket.
nMarch 9, 2024; Texas Southern University's Jonathan Cisse and Head Coach Johnny Jones celebrate 2024 Men's Basketball Senior Day with a victory over Prairie View A&M; Credit: Kyle T. Mosley, HBCU Legends
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Thursday’s contest in Birmingham will require seniors P.J. Henry and Jonathan Cisse to lead Grayson Carter, Zytarious Mortle, and their Tigers teammates on a path to repeating as the SWAC conference champions for 2024. Still, before they touch down in Alabama, the young team must exercise the regular-season demons of slow starts, untimely turnovers, and defensive lulls to receive another invitation to the “Big Dance.” TSU has a chance in a conference with parity.
Johnny Jones’ storied career has endured from the first tip-off as the interim coach with Memphis in 1999 to TSU in 2024. Will his excellent coaching skills will be enough for the Texas Southern University Tigers to win another SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament title?
We shall see.
Related: Texas Southern Gains A Victory Over Jackson State In A Tense SWAC ‘Battle Of The Tigers’
